Clinical and subclinical condyloma. Rates among male sexual partners of women with genital human papillomavirus infection.

Sixty-three regular male sexual partners of women with proven genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection or its associated lesions were examined by colposcopy and biopsy (when necessary) to determine the prevalence of penile condyloma among them. Fifteen (24%) were found to have histologic evidence of condyloma. The severity of the women's lesions did not necessarily reflect that of lesions found in their sexual partners. The majority (54%) of the HPV-associated lesions were located on the penile body, followed by the penile root (25%). We found no cases of premalignant or malignant penile lesions. After controlling for the confounding factors of socioeconomic status and lesion location and comparing the data to those compiled from the English-language literature, we arrived at various theories about the very low rate of infection in our population. One possibility is the protective effect of circumcision, partly because the preputium is a major site of bacterial and viral colonization. The possibility of different strains of HPV in the Jewish Israeli population and certain socioeconomic factors that may limit the spread of sexually transmitted diseases may be the basis for future study.